This disclosure is related to magnetic and semiconductor materials, e.g., magnetic material for information storage media, semiconductors for information processing, etc.
Magnetic materials have a wide range of applications, such as being used for storage media. Magnetism is commonly associated with elements containing localized d or f electrons, i.e. the itinerant ferromagnetism. In contrast, the elements containing diffuse sp electrons are intrinsically non-magnetic, but magnetism can be induced in sp-element materials extrinsically by defects and impurities. There have been continuing efforts in searching for new magnetic materials, and much recent interest has been devoted to magnetism of carbon-based, especially graphene-based structures such as graphene nanoribbons and nanoflakes.
Graphene nanoribbons and nanoflakes with “zigzag” edges have been shown to exhibit magnetism. Their magnetization is originated from the localized edge states that give rise to a high density of states at the Fermi level rendering a spin-polarization instability.